Lisa"Thanks for helping my mom this morning." Lisa glanced over at Marc as he drove them toward the mall. She hadn't been ice skating in ten years if not more. It would be nice to do something fun for a few hours and try not to let the situation back home consume her thoughts."How did you know I helped?" He reached over and cupped his hand over hers as it rested on her thigh."Johnny told me." She smirked."Oh, Johnny the ex-boyfriend who popped your cherry?" Marc intertwined his fingers with hers."Jealous, are we?" She turned to watch the world go by. The city was filled with people, lights and snow. It was almost majestic."Not in the slightest. I mean, I wish we would have known each other when we were younger, but I'm happy about how things are turning out." He shrugged. "Your mom needed help this morning and was giving Maria hell about toting her downstairs, so I thought I would offer some help.""Well, thank you. It means a lot to me." She glanced back at him, taking time to
Marc"All right, so I need you to help me figure out something for Lisa for Christmas." Marc walked beside Dray through the mall, the noise and the crowds starting to get on his last nerve. They had about thirty minutes before they needed to meet up with Lisa so they could get back to Marc's side of town. He couldn't help but wonder if Charles was going to join them for their Christmas Eve traditions."What about a ring?" Dray snorted, as if the idea of a ring was somehow funny."Not yet. Jake is proposing to my sister on New Year’s. I don't want to steal their thunder, and honestly, I think Lisa and I are in for a long courtship. She likes dating, and I like what she likes." He chuckled and pointed to a Hallmark store. "Let's go in there and see if we can find something sweet and sentimental.""Lisa doesn't seem like a sweet and sentimental type. No?" Dray walked around a group of girls and glanced back.Horn-dog. Forever looking to score. Marc smirked. He'd get it one day, but it wo
LisaThe church service was new, but beautiful. Peace like Lisa had never felt before wrapped around her as she sat snuggled between Marc and his mother. The handsome older man sitting on the other side of Marc's mom, Charles, seemed like a great guy. Lisa made a mental note to call Kari and see what she thought of him. Her and Jake were supposed to have visited before heading out to Texas.Texas.It felt so far away. Would Kari really think about moving down south?Lisa let out a quick huff and smiled at Marc as he glanced down at her with a questioning look. There was no way to even whisper in the silence of the church service. She didn't want to break the spell anyway. Everyone looked serene, lost in the promise of the holiday. It was bliss. It was completely different than anything her family did.The preacher got up and said a few words before having people walk down the aisles with little white candles. Lisa took hers and passed the rest down the aisle, wondering what in the wor
Lisa"I ate too much cake." Lisa laughed as they walked back up the stairs to Ms. Martin's house. "Thank you for letting me join you guys tonight for your Christmas Eve traditions. I love it.""Of course." Marc's mom pressed her hand to Lisa's back as they walked into the warmth of the house. "Something tells me that you're going to be a part of the family before we know it."Lisa chuckled. "That thought had to scare the hell out of you about a year ago.""Hell yes it did." She smirked as Marc balked over his mom cursing."Did you really just say that?" He moved into the kitchen behind his mom as Charles closed the door and walked up beside Lisa, smiling down at her."It's a place." Marc's mom shrugged and disappeared into the kitchen. "What? I didn't say a curse word.""Semantics, Mom." Marc laughed.Lisa glanced up at Charles and smiled back. "I think you and I have it pretty good. No?""I've been in love with Elizabeth for a couple of years now, but didn't have the courage to tell
MarcWithout Kari there to shake him awake on Christmas morning, he figured he would get to sleep in late, but the phone rang early. Dark outside early.Marc scrambled for it, worried that it was Lisa and she needed him. To see Jake's name on the caller id set off a whole new host of worries. He sat up and answered it as his heart contracted in his chest."Jake. What's up, man? My sister okay?" He stood and stumbled to the door, flipping on the light and closing the door. Kari meant the world to him. She was his best friend - by far."No, man." Jake cleared his throat. "Everything is great. I'm just... I don't know. I'm scared shitless about this asking her to marry me thing. I wanted to talk to one of my brothers, but they would just give me shit over being a pussy about it.""You are being a pussy." Marc chuckled."Really?""Dude, you didn't fucking tell me that I had to dress up like Santa for the teddy bear drive thing at the fire station. That might have been a detail you want to
LisaThe smell of wassail woke Lisa up the next morning, the sound of Christmas music playing somewhere downstairs grabbing her next. She sat up and let out a sigh. Her mother had been asleep by the time she got home the night before, but she and her father had shared a few too many chocolate chip cookies over a long conversation.He had pulled out the old picture books and moved through almost every photo Lisa could remember of her childhood. The pride in his voice had shaken her to the core, but somewhere deep down inside, she was aware of how much her dad loved her. It was her mother she wanted to see it from.Of course, hearing it the night before for the first time since she was little was a huge breakthrough.She got up and pulled on her robe and slippers before walking downstairs languidly. The house would be empty seeing that everyone was granted three days off around Christmas. It was almost nice. Just her, her mother and her father.The music was coming from the den, which s
LisaOne Month Later"You really like this open floor plan?" Lisa glanced around, not too sure that she could live in a place that looked like a glorified studio."Baby. Might I remind you that I'm still in school and you're starting your business over again here in New York. We need to be smart about the price and get something that we like and can afford. The minute I get out of school and start making money, we'll move into something bigger and better." Marc moved up behind her and kissed the side of her neck. "You know I want to give you the world.""I don't need the world." She turned and pressed her hands to his chest. "I just want something a little more closed off. How about the last apartment we looked at?""What?" His face registered the shock that must have been racing through his veins. "It was half the size of this one. Insanely tiny.""Yes, and it had a living room, a kitchen and a bedroom that were all separated from each other. I liked it." She shrugged and brushed her
DrakeThe bell jingled above the door as a couple of middle-aged men walked into the gym, their sweat suits a little tight, but everyone's were that time of year."Hey, Drake. How goes it, buddy?" Tom lifted his hand and waved as Drake glanced up from the front counter."Hey, guys. Enjoy your workout." He smiled as they gave each other hell about being fat, old and ugly."You know they're only the second group of people to come in today." Violet walked up to the desk and pressed her elbows on it, looking like an angel. The girl was like a sister to him, as were all the girls who worked for him at the gym.Drake stood and raised his arms toward the ceiling, stretching and hoping like hell to figure out how to stop feeling so lazy. It was due to staying up late making love to Sicily, or maybe it was her cooking."Stop worrying. The first of the year is coming. People always wake up around New Year's and realize that they don't want to spend another year out of shape." He ran his hand do